Is the use of cash dying out?

[Bletchleyite]

At the end of the day he's no different to the imbecile who runs the Chilled Pubs chain in Derbyshire/Staffordshire which has stopped accepting cash. Not to mention the imbeciles up and down the country who now close their pubs at 10pm when it used to be 11 or later. The world is full of them.

No, he's much worse. Do some reading on what he's got up to over the years. It isn't just bad policies, he's a Tim Martin minus minus minus. Genuinely a miserable old curmudgeon and an all round nasty piece of work.

 

[Trackman]

Exactly what my grandmother did in the 1960s, except she had a drawerful of purses, and equivalent to the sub-account facility Monzo Bank offers and a previous poster described.

wow! so did my grandmother, well I think they were envelopes. She passed in the late 80's but would never ever use DD and use the same old tried and trusty method.

At the end of the day he's no different to the imbecile who runs the Chilled Pubs chain in Derbyshire/Staffordshire which has stopped accepting cash. Not to mention the imbeciles up and down the country who now close their pubs at 10pm when it used to be 11 or later. The world is full of them.

Some Camden Town pubs on a Sunday nights spring to mind with last orders at 21:45, they tell me 'I'm alright' for another beer after 22:00! I can see where they are coming from as the place is deserted, well.. sort off.

There are loads of takeaways in Carlisle, Workington, Whitehaven and Cockermouth that only accept cash. I'd imagine the same applies to other towns in the area.

Last week I fancied a Kebab, I saw a takeaway with 'Just Eat' signs. Entered said premises and they only take cash, ended up paying 50p more for it - so ordered whilst stood in there.
---
I've also heard vendors say 'We dont take Apple pay' when they see the phone - I say hang on , let me try.. and then 'Oh! so it works'

 

[miklcct]

In Sweden, I can no longer use cash to buy train tickets, neither at a station or on board.

The only places I can use cash for train ticket are travel centre and retailers.

 

[nlogax]

At the end of the day he's no different to the imbecile who runs the Chilled Pubs chain in Derbyshire/Staffordshire which has stopped accepting cash. Not to mention the imbeciles up and down the country who now close their pubs at 10pm when it used to be 11 or later. The world is full of them.

No. Have a quick search for Humphrey Smith online and you'll understand a bit more about him.

 

[gg1]

There are loads of takeaways in Carlisle, Workington, Whitehaven and Cockermouth that only accept cash. I'd imagine the same applies to other towns in the area.

Closest to that near me is a chip shop who only accept card payments on orders over £10, anything smaller is cash only.

 

[ainsworth74]

Last week I fancied a Kebab, I saw a takeaway with 'Just Eat' signs. Entered said premises and they only take cash, ended up paying 50p more for it - so ordered whilst stood in there.

Yes my local pizza shop is like that. Cash in the shop but they're signed up to one of the Just Eat imitation outfits (Feedmeonline for anyone who is overly curious) so if you want to pay by card you can order online. I usually do as despite the fee it's more convenient to pay by card. I assume that they can't be bothered with the admin of having a card machine in the shop when they can, in effect, outsource it to someone else. The local Chinese however is cash only and not online at all. There's also a chippy but I've not actually been in there to find out if they take cards as well as cash.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Yes my local pizza shop is like that. Cash in the shop but they're signed up to one of the Just Eat imitation outfits (Feedmeonline for anyone who is overly curious) so if you want to pay by card you can order online. I usually do as despite the fee it's more convenient to pay by card. I assume that they can't be bothered with the admin of having a card machine in the shop when they can, in effect, outsource it to someone else. The local Chinese however is cash only and not online at all. There's also a chippy but I've not actually been in there to find out if they take cards as well as cash.

I wonder are there any in-person takeaways that ONLY sell via those apps, i.e. they have a shop front but it is only for collection? People are increasingly using them to order even when getting stuff in person as noted above, and e.g. the Maccies app is nicer to use than the touchscreens and there's no need to queue for it (plus it isn't covered in faecal bacteria as the touchscreens allegedly are).

It would completely eliminate any sort of front line "money handling" - but would it put too many people off, e.g. the huge "drunk market"?

There do exist delivery-only businesses, often with their premises in a cheap industrial estate, and sometimes even people selling food from their home kitchen, but does this halfway house exist anywhere?

 

[Dai Corner]

Yes my local pizza shop is like that. Cash in the shop but they're signed up to one of the Just Eat imitation outfits (Feedmeonline for anyone who is overly curious) so if you want to pay by card you can order online. I usually do as despite the fee it's more convenient to pay by card. I assume that they can't be bothered with the admin of having a card machine in the shop when they can, in effect, outsource it to someone else. The local Chinese however is cash only and not online at all. There's also a chippy but I've not actually been in there to find out if they take cards as well as cash.

They may want the cash to pay staff and suppliers and appear to be be below the VAT threshold?

 

[Deafdoggie]

I wonder are there any in-person takeaways that ONLY sell via those apps, i.e. they have a shop front but it is only for collection? People are increasingly using them to order even when getting stuff in person as noted above, and e.g. the Maccies app is nicer to use than the touchscreens and there's no need to queue for it (plus it isn't covered in faecal bacteria as the touchscreens allegedly are).

It would completely eliminate any sort of front line "money handling" - but would it put too many people off, e.g. the huge "drunk market"?

Deliveroo offer it as an option for restaurants. Basically they're exclusive to the restaurant, there's no other way to order.

 

[Dai Corner]

It would completely eliminate any sort of front line "money handling" - but would it put too many people off, e.g. the huge "drunk market"?

I could foresee arguments between drunks who can barely hold their phones straight let alone order correctly and staff serving them!

 

[Bletchleyite]

I could foresee arguments between drunks who can barely hold their phones straight let alone order correctly and staff serving them!

They manage to order an Uber, so they can probably manage to order food, too.

 

[satisnek]

No, he's much worse. Do some reading on what he's got up to over the years. It isn't just bad policies, he's a Tim Martin minus minus minus. Genuinely a miserable old curmudgeon and an all round nasty piece of work.

No. Have a quick search for Humphrey Smith online and you'll understand a bit more about him.

So? He's being selective about who he wants on his premises, just like the others I mentioned (but admittedly more extreme). They are all within their rights legally (the term "public house" is a bit of a misnomer) and nobody is being forced to go there.

I don't see where Tim Martin comes into this. His pubs accept all forms of payment and are inclusive and welcoming to all, and he has been rather successful. Ah, unless you're a foaming Remainer who will never forgive him or 17,410,741 others...

 

[Bletchleyite]

So? He's being selective about who he wants on his premises, just like the others I mentioned (but admittedly more extreme). They are all within their rights legally (the term "public house" is a bit of a misnomer) and nobody is being forced to go there.

Nope. Missing the point again. Please do some reading.

Things to look into include management style and what he did with regard to a temporary bridge during flooding.

I don't see where Tim Martin comes into this. His pubs accept all forms of payment and are inclusive and welcoming to all, and he has been rather successful. Ah, unless you're a foaming Remainer who will never forgive him or 17,410,741 others...

The use of his business to push political views is in my view inappropriate, yes. Whether I happen to agree with those views or not.

 

[satisnek]

Nope. Missing the point again. Please do some reading.

Things to look into include management style and what he did with regard to a temporary bridge during flooding.

Once again... So? Nothing to do with whatever method of payment he allows/prohibits in his pubs and consequently the type of customer he attracts/alienates.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Once again... So? Nothing to do with whatever method of payment he allows/prohibits in his pubs and consequently the type of customer he attracts/alienates.

Correct, nothing to do with either of those things, and entirely to do with his objectionable character. He's like an old style Lord of the Manor.

Edit: for clarity re the mod message below this is about Humphrey Smith, not Martin. I won't continue it but think it important to be clear.

 

[Mag_seven]

Can we drop the discussion about Tim Martin please. Thanks

 

[Enthusiast]

Traders don't 'pay VAT only to claim it back'. The clue is in the name Value Added Tax,

Yes, I know how VAT works. I should have said "...only to claim most of it back.."

The fact that purchase tax was complex is a function of politicians and civil servants. There is no reason why it should be complex and even at its worst it cannot even begin to touch on the complexities of VAT (and the resources needed to run it).

However, I'm worried that we digress a little!

 

[Bikeman78]

But leaving that aside for a moment, are e-tickets etc. actually cheaper to the railway anyway?

A paper ticket requires the paper and ink, and machines to print them. And a mark1 eyeball on the guard, but that is free.

They're certainly not quicker to check on board. I saw a group of women travelling together. One of them had all the tickets on her phone and they had split their tickets as well. She had to go through all the tickets saved on her phone to find the outward portions of all the legs of the journey. Each one had to be scanned with a two or three second pause whilst the scanning machine decided if it was valid or not. Had she presented a wad of paper tickets I'm pretty sure the guard could have found all the right ones and stamped them far more quickly.

 

[Lemmy99uk]

There are loads of takeaways in Carlisle, Workington, Whitehaven and Cockermouth that only accept cash. I'd imagine the same applies to other towns in the area.

It’s not only takeaways, some of the eat in restaurants are now cash only.

On top of that, this thread made me think about the specific purchases I make that are cash only. Most of my fresh vegetables are bought from local farms that will have a couple of bunkers filled with local produce and an honesty box at the end of the drive. Likewise, I always buy eggs from local producers using the same method. And then there’s the fish from the boat in Maryport harbour that I will visit twice a month for a bag of langoustines or prawns.

I’m not living in some sort of idyllic ‘Good Life’ scenario, it’s just the way the rural economy works and I’m certainly not the exception as the queue for the fishing boat would confirm.

The fact that I’m carrying cash for those purchases tends to mean that I also use it for low value items like newspapers or ice cream, talking of which, do ice cream vans take card payment?

 

[Bletchleyite]

I’m not living in some sort of idyllic ‘Good Life’ scenario, it’s just the way the rural economy works and I’m certainly not the exception as the queue for the fishing boat would confirm.

Probably wouldn't be too hard to put their Paypal email address or sort code and account number on the notice so you could pay electronically if you wished. Just another form of honesty box, and as a bonus not one where someone can nick the proceeds.

No, you can't do much with a sort code and account number alone - at worst set up a direct debit which is guaranteed to be reversible - though I expect to see something like 3D Secure implemented for that soon enough as it's the last big "hole" in the banking system where you can do bad stuff by just knowing something rather than both knowing AND having something. And no, I'm not posting mine here because I know full well I'll end up having the admin of reversing a stack of DDs if I do as people will do it to be annoying!

do ice cream vans take card payment?

Some do, yes. I've certainly paid contactless for an ice cream. It's a shop, just happens to be on wheels, a bit like a bus is sort-of a shop selling transport.

If vans in London didn't take card/Apple/Google Pay then they'd not sell a lot. Loads of people in London don't carry cash, most notably twentysomethings and early thirtysomethings who are now the parents whose kids are by far the biggest market for ice cream vans. I only do because of a couple of local shops that don't do card, once they switch I won't either.

 

[Bald Rick]

I’m not living in some sort of idyllic ‘Good Life’ scenario, it’s just the way the rural economy works and I’m certainly not the exception as the queue for the fishing boat would confirm.

I don’t doubt it, but it does rather sound like a Good Life scenario!

talking of which, do ice cream vans take card payment?

All those I have used in the last couple of years have.

 

[Domh245]

The fact that I’m carrying cash for those purchases tends to mean that I also use it for low value items like newspapers or ice cream, talking of which, do ice cream vans take card payment?

Ice Cream (and burger) vans have all accepted card at the different race tracks I've been to in the last few years.

I wouldn't necessarily describe them as low value items though!! There'd certainly not be any worries around meeting a minimum transaction fee!

 

[MikeWM]

They're certainly not quicker to check on board. I saw a group of women travelling together. One of them had all the tickets on her phone and they had split their tickets as well. She had to go through all the tickets saved on her phone to find the outward portions of all the legs of the journey. Each one had to be scanned with a two or three second pause whilst the scanning machine decided if it was valid or not. Had she presented a wad of paper tickets I'm pretty sure the guard could have found all the right ones and stamped them far more quickly.

Yes, I've seen similar.

I also have the same experience regularly at the cinema now. Previously you showed your paper ticket to the person manning the entrance to the screens, and in two seconds they ripped it and said 'screen 4'. Now you inevitably end up behind someone who has to find their phone, work out how to unlock it, work out which app has the ticket, bring it up, hand it over, wait for it to try to be scanned... The process takes significantly longer, it isn't 'convenient' at all.

 

[Dai Corner]

Yes, I've seen similar.

I also have the same experience regularly at the cinema now. Previously you showed your paper ticket to the person manning the entrance to the screens, and in two seconds they ripped it and said 'screen 4'. Now you inevitably end up behind someone who has to find their phone, work out how to unlock it, work out which app has the ticket, bring it up, hand it over, wait for it to try to be scanned... The process takes significantly longer, it isn't 'convenient' at all.

As opposed to the person apparently taken by surprise that they have to show their ticket and spends ages looking for it among the used ones in their pockets/wallet/handbag?

Just get it ready while you're in the queue, like a railway e-ticket

 

[WelshBluebird]

It wouldn't say dying, but it very much is less important than it was before. I've just been down to Woolacombe in Devon and it is amazing how many places now take card down there that were cash only before COVID. Beforehand it was very much a place you needed cash for, but now the only place left that we went to that doesn't take card is the small cafe on one of the side beaches that simply doesn't get any mobile signal so can't. Some of the places down there have started to go card only now too.

When all else fails (i.e the electricity supply) it'll still be there,

Is that really true these days? Like yes technically cash still works when the power goes, but most places I go to now use a computer based till system that they can't overwrite in the event of a power cut (and staff either don't know or can't work out how to do things without the till).

 

[Bletchleyite]

As opposed to the person apparently taken by surprise that they have to show their ticket and spends ages looking for it among the used ones in their pockets/wallet/handbag?

Just get it ready while you're in the queue, like a railway e-ticket

It is a bit fiddlier, to be fair. Someone wants to get it into their thick skull that putting a table by the entrance so you can put down your drink while doing it would be useful!

Odeon do it a different way by checking on entrance before you get your drink etc, though they can't really control people going into the wrong age film that way so could get in bother.

 

[MikeWM]

As opposed to the person apparently taken by surprise that they have to show their ticket and spends ages looking for it among the used ones in their pockets/wallet/handbag?

That happens too, of course, but significantly less often because you've generally only just bought the ticket so haven't had time yet to lose it in a pocket!

Just get it ready while you're in the queue, like a railway e-ticket

Well, yes, but there's nothing new about this problem of the majority of people being terrible at anticipating imminent things they'll be asked to do; people aren't exactly getting better at it over time. And the more complex it gets, the worse people get.

 

[WelshBluebird]

In terms of people taking ages to find a ticket on their phone etc, is it really any different to taking ages to find a paper ticket in your bag, or to find change for the bus etc etc?

 

[MikeWM]

In terms of people taking ages to find a ticket on their phone etc, is it really any different to taking ages to find a paper ticket in your bag, or to find change for the bus etc etc?

In my experience, yes, considerably. That's anecdotal, sure, but I do go to the cinema *a lot*.

 

[DC1989]

I went to the cinema on Saturday, you simply had to scan a QR code at the screen number from your email and then the door opened.

You could easily say you have to wait behind someone routing around their pockets trying to find their ticket etc. But people not having their phone etc ready when queing certainly is an annoyance. I'd challenge anyone that says London buses arent significantly quicker to board now they are cashless though!